Pieter Dorsman wrote a fascinating post at my own blog about – what he calls – culture of death. It is Pieter’s first post for The Gazette (my blog) and, when you read it, I am sure you will understand why I asked him to co-blog (again at my blog not at TMV). A small excerpt in an attempt to persuade you to read the post:
Diana’s death accelerated the emergence of a new and very public culture of death, now an integral part of the lives of the ‘commoners’. Personally I subscribe to the more private approach to mourning – whether it is a loved one or a public figure – but in our highly individualistic society where tradition and restraint have given way to the unfettered celebration of the self that is apparently no longer the norm.
Meanwhile, Michael Linn Jones wonders whether the ‘unsinkable US economy’ should be renamed as “The U.S.S. Titanic.’ Is the US ship about to sink? Michael writes:
I have said for years that without credit cards, our economy would not look a whole lot differently than it did in the 1930’s. Credit, in whatever form, provides a mask for what really lies underneath. It is illogical for anyone to tout the benefits of keeping incomes suppressed while at the same time bemoaning the fact that things just aren’t selling like they used to.
In the short term, having stewards bring table scraps down to the lower decks (and lower classes) may seem not only munificent, but wise. In the long term it is an insane, cannibalistic process whereby those who drive the economy are starved.
I agree whole heartedly with Michael’s post: the US’ economy seems to be based on credit. People are spending money they do not have. How long can this continue?
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